Trump issues 26 new pardons, including those for Stone, Manafort and Charles Kushner



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Pardons from Manafort and Stone recognize two of the best known and most widely convicted former advisers to the President, both of whom were indicted by Special Advocate Robert Mueller, have been tried and convicted by juries of multiple crimes .

Manafort, who is serving house arrest, initially agreed to cooperate with Mueller and then lied to prosecutors, while Stone never cooperated after lying to Congress to protect the president. Manafort spent nearly two years in prison for bank and tax fraud, illegal foreign lobbying, and witness tampering plots before being released due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while Stone’s sentence for obstruction of Congress and threatening a witness was commuted by Trump earlier this year. days before he surrenders.

Charles Kushner, meanwhile, was sued by New Jersey prosecutor Chris Christie in the early 2000s for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal contributions to the campaign.

He eventually pleaded guilty to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliation against a federal witness – his brother-in-law – and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission.

Former California GOP Representative Duncan Hunter’s wife Margaret, just a day after Trump granted Duncan Hunter a full pardon, is also included on Trump’s pardon list on Wednesday night. Margaret Hunter had pleaded guilty last year to conspiring “knowingly and willfully” to convert campaign funds for personal gain.

Beyond the high-profile pardons, Trump has also pardoned more than 20 other people, including those who had pleaded guilty to various cyber crimes, gun possession and mail fraud. He also commuted the sentences of three others.

The wave of pardons on Wednesday night comes after Trump used his extended pardons on Tuesday for a list that included former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, former US Congressman Chris Collins and the four Blackwater Guards involved in the massacre in Iraq.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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